AFCON 2021: 3 things we learnt as Cameroon outclassed Gambia and Burkina Faso made semi-final cut

The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) returned on Saturday as the first set of quarter-final matches involving Cameroon, Gambia, Burkina Faso and Tunisia went down in the cities of Douala and Garoua.

While hosts Cameroon ended the fairytale run of debutants Gambia in Douala, Burkina Faso got the job done over Tunisia in Garoua. With both the Indomitable Lions and Stallions of Burkina Faso now securing their places in the semi-finals, what lessons were left to be learnt?

Gambia held off Cameroon’s danger man Vincent Aboubakar for ninety minutes but were unable to find the antidote for the hosts’ sting in their 2-0 quarter-final defeat.

Hosts Cameroon, for the first time in the competition, faced a team with a very compact defence set up.

A first-half with a goalless scoreline marked the first time the five-time AFCON winners had failed to find the back of the net in an opening 45 minutes. However, two moments of brilliance by Karl Toko Ekambi provided an answer to the question of whether Cameroon could survive without Aboubakar.

Tunisia showed their defensive ineptitude in its full glory when they lost to Burkina Faso in their quarter-final clash at the Roumde Adjia Stadium in Garoua.

The defeat, Tunisia’s third of the competition after having lost twice in the group stage to Mali and Gambia, showed once again that the Carthage Eagles get carried away a lot.

The Tunisians, who constantly went forward to press Kamou Malo’s Burkina Faso, were unable to recover quickly in cases of a counterattack towards their goal. Hence, Dango Ouattara had only two defenders to bother with before tucking the ball past Bechir Ben Said, giving his side a deserved lead going into half-time — the only goal of the game.

After a poor run in the Group Stage which saw Tunisia lose to better teams Mali and Gambia, the Carthage Eagles qualified as one of the best losers thanks to a win over an even more horrible side, Mauritania.

A smash-and-grab Round of 16 victory over Nigeria might have made the Carthage Eagles look special, but a defeat to Burkina Faso in the quarter-final proved otherwise.

For the most part of the game, Tunisia looked overmatched and unable to handle the intensity of Burkinabes, showing characteristics poor teams at the AFCON have shown. Their luck would eventually run out as Ouattara’s goal sees them join other horrible participants in exiting the competition.